peters



and the cheese is removed without the labor now necessary todo it, and without injury @einen tant @anni @ffice` STEPHEN PURDY, OF WHITESTOWN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND ELLIS ELLIS, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 76,345, dated April 7, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN CHEESE-HOOPS.

TO ALLWIIM IT MAY CONCERN:

. Be it known that I, STEPHEN PURDY,lo` Wh usefdl Improvement-in Cheese-Hoops.

The nature ot" my invent-ion consists in the construction and arrangement of tl may*y be opened at its side, by means of which the cheese when pressed may be readi without labor, while lateral pressure upon the cheese may be obtained.

And I do hereby declare that the-following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention,- and of the inode of operation of the same, reference being hadt specification, in whiclr'- Figure l represents the hoop in perspective.

y Figure 2, n. plan of the hoop; and

Figure 3, a perspective view of the clamps.

A is the hoop; A', a plate covering the side opening in the hoop; B and Bl, flanges attached to the sides of the openings, having B2 and B3, tapering lips or grooved edges; B4 and B5, cross-openings in B3; C, a bar, having the clamps G", C2, and C3, attached to it; C4 is a knob or arm for pressing down or raising the clamps; D is a spring orxc'atch to hold C in place when detached from B3. The hoop A may be of 1.rood or metal, of the usual form, or of almost any other form. Instead of making its sides continuous, I cut it down the side,.as seen in iig. 1, and attach to each side u flange, B and B1. 'lhe edges or lips B2 and B3 are tapering upwards, with a slight groove on their outer sides. The lip I33 is eut through down to the ange B, as seen at B B5. A plate of thin metal, A', is attached to the inside of the hoop on oneside of the sl itestown, Oneida county, New York, have invented a new and ly removed from the hoop o the annexed drawings, making a part of this it, and overlapping the other Ie parts, so that the hoop side, so that the hoop may be opened to any desired distance, and yet the space be closed by such plate, while.

being attached only to one side, it permits the edges of the hoop to be brought together, as seen in iig. 2. The bar C has clamps at each end and at the centre, C1 C2 C3, as seen in iig-3. These clamps are so formed as exactly on to the lips or edges B2 and B3 of the anges, wl1euthe hoop is brought together, and thus hold the lioop firmly together, the clamps and lips forming dove-tails. As the taper of the lips is considerable, the lower clumps Cl and C2 may beslipped upward, and allow the h'oop to open considerably without entirely removing them.

The operation andvalue ofthe invention will be appa-rent from the description given. When a cheese is to bc formed and-pressed, the edges of the hoop are brought together and the clamps are pressed down over the edges B2 and B3, and when the curd has been suiIiciently pressed, by raising the clamps the hoop springs open,

Y A n to the cheese. The clamps may not he pressed fully down at first until the end pressure has been applied, when th driven down, and thus lateral pressure heobtained and the cheese more firmly pressed. And to increase the capacity in this respect, the hoop may be divided inmore than vone place. The cross-openings I3* and Bf" permit the clamps Cx and C2 to pass through when raised to these points, and thus allowy the hoop to be opened and closed without taking the bar C o from the hoop, while thespring holds the bar C to the lip B2.

It is known that a great dealvot` time is lost-in removing the cheese from the hoop. All this is obviated by my invention, while a considerable lateral pressure is obtained, which aids in expressing the whey and rendering the cheese firmer.

Instead of uniting therclamps to the bar C, they-may of course be all separate, and so, instead of' separate clamps, there may be but one long one; but the formI have given will, I think, be `found the best. l v

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

c clamps may be i 1. Constructing cheese-hoops with a side opening, or openings, with a ilange on each side, and a clamp o1" clamps to hold them together, in the manner substantially as described, and for the usesand purposes mentioned. 2. The said hoop with openings, anges, and clamps, in combination with the plate A", constructed and operating as described, and for' the uses and purposes mentioned.

'3. The said hoop with the openings, flanges, and clamps, n combination with the spring or catch D, and the cross-openings B" and B5,- con'structed and operating substantially as described, and for the uses and purposes mentioned..

STEPHEN PURDY.

Wtnessesz il. Sm'nonn, Jr., Jenn G. Cnociiun. 

